Retiree opens bird’s nest shop

Friday May 7, 2010
The Star
By SIMON KHOO
simonkhoo@thestar.com.my


KUANTAN: At first glance, the Natural Bird Nest Supplies in Jalan Merdeka here appears to be a shop catering to the rich.

“That is not so,” said proprietor Tan Ai King, who has been working hard to convince the average white collar worker to step in and try her specialities.

The shop sells stewed bird’s nest and packed products.

“All our products are 100% pure with no chemicals or artificial sweetening added to enhance the taste.

“We get our supply of bird’s nest from our own swiftlet farms located in Pekan, Maran, Indera Mahkota and Inderapura.

“As such, we can charge a lower price than the actual market cost of a kilogramme of raw bird’s nest which is about RM5,000,” she said.


Plenty of choices: Tan (left) showing some of her products to a customer.

She said she had a steady number of regular customers since her store opened in the middle of last year.

She said her aim was to get more local folks as well as visitors from other states to try her specialities, including several types of desserts.

“I prepare the desserts with the help of six workers. I am a retiree and doing this for the love of food.

“My youngest son Lawrence Hoo is also helping me out at the store,” she said, adding that her husband Hoo Kat Lee was managing the swiftlet farms and providing consultancy services in swiftlet farming.

Tan said she started the business from her home in Bukit Sekilau about five years ago and decided to expand by opening a shop.

“There is a market because people are more conscious about their health.

“There were about three or four outlets in Kuantan previously but all had closed down as the owners could not sustain operations due to the high cost involved,” she said.

She said many of her customers were not rich people but appreciated the product, including people from the neighbouring states of Terengganu and Kelantan.

“I also have customers from China and Singapore who were told by their fellow countrymen to drop by our shop if they were holidaying in Kuantan.

“A bowl of bird’s nest soup at our shop starts from RM35 for one person to RM130 for three to four people,” she said, adding that customers would have to wait half-an-hour for the order.

Tan said some even placed bulk orders for 20 people.

For more information, call 09-514 1288 or 012-908 2299.